Now that's quite the title isn't it. It has been brought to my attention more so now than in last few years that there seems to be a perceived stereo typing of Christians. What I mean by that is when someone states "I am a Christian" they are lumped into a religious category generally referred to as hypocrite's, bigots, self righteous, bible thumping do gooders. Of course the list goes on. This has caused me to wonder just why do people perceive the Christian community in this way. Now I am not saying everyone perceives Christians this way, but a larger number now than ever before. Maybe it's because they don't really understand what happens to a person when they choose to believe in Jesus Christ. This is where I want to start, what happens to a person when they have turned from their old way of life to follow the one God said would redeem us from our sins?
Generally when someone comes before God confessing their sins, they have either come to the end of their rope and are desperate for a change in how they are living and are presented with the Gospel or they come to God because they have heard the good news or the Gospel about Jesus Christ and they want to be forgiven of their sins and follow after Christ. Whichever way one comes to God indicates that they realize they are lost and cannot on their own find their way back to God. This is the case of every human on the face of earth. So what happens when one turns to God seeking forgiveness? What really changes? Sometimes when a person puts their trust in Jesus Christ an almost immediate change can be seen. A new look or glow seems to be about them, they seem happier and more content than before. Peace is generated in them that cannot be explained. Then there are other's that turn to Jesus Christ and struggle with this new found faith. There's a battle going on that makes it hard to understand just what took place when they accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. What makes it so different from one conversion to the other?
In the most simple of ways, here's what I have come to understand, the one who finds it easy and change becomes more natural to them are usually, but not always, those who have not been infected with the world as severely as those who struggle with their conversion. Again, this is not always the case, but in general those who have lived a hard life and lived according to the worlds way of thinking have much to rid themselves of. Now, let's examine what happens when someone puts their belief in Gods Son Jesus Christ. To understand this you have to realize that we humans are made up of three parts consisting of body, soul, and spirit. Our fleshly body is nothing more than a structure in which the spirit and soul live. The soul is our conscience, our will, the part we think with, have emotions from, the soul is what most people call their personality. Your soul and body can be felt. If I touched you physically, you would know it because your soul has told you this through that physical touch. I could cause reaction from you by what I speak to your soul, like making you mad by what I say or making you happy or joyful by telling you something good. Your soul and body are interconnected, they work together. What you sense in your soul is manifest in your body. Your spirit on the other hand is not connected to either soul or body, your spirit is actually who you are. Your spirit cannot be accessed in any natural way. Jesus declared, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). He meant that there's no direct connection between the two. They are interrelated. You simply cannot contact your spirit through your emotions or your physical body. This is where the Christian has the greatest problem in their Christian life.
In 1 Ephesians 1:18-20 God's Word declares that we have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Truth cannot be discerned through your natural senses. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 and John 14:12 which speak of being a brand new creature who can do the same miraculous works that Jesus did. If you don't understand the spirit, soul and body you are going to be wondering "where is it?" "I don't really have that kind of power in me." "The Bible is hard to understand." If you can't see, taste, hear, smell or touch what the Word reveals about you, you'll immediately be thrown into conflict. Since the spirit realm cannot be seen or felt, the only way to accurately perceive spiritual truth is through the Bible or God's Word to us, and believe it. John 6:63 tells us what Jesus said concerning flesh and spirit. The flesh does not profit anything, but the words that Christ spoke to us are spirit and life. In order to know what your spirit is like you must find out from the Word.
When the Word talks about all things becoming new in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 you may be wondering why you don't have a new body or all those old habits are still present in your life. There will be a time "when this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Christ's atonement provided for you physically, your body has not yet been saved. It's been purchased, but not yet redeemed. Your soul can be transformed now but only to the degree you renew your mind, change your attitudes, and conform your values to the Word of God. This by all means should happen, but it is not automatic. In your soul, old things didn't pass away, and all things haven't yet become new. The renewing of your soul won't be completely finished until you go to be with Jesus. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good and perfect will." Romans 12:2.
If you are seeing Christians that seem to be a mess or they don't seem to be living up to what you deem a proper Christian and they don't do the things that you think they should be doing, or you see them acting like the rest of the world, then maybe you are seeing a Christian who has not yet been transformed in their soul, old habits are still present, old attitudes keep cropping up and they just don't measure up to the standards you think they should measure up to, then maybe you are the one with the problem, you are looking at them through tainted glasses or through the lens of the world.
Some people take longer than other's to clean up, and some struggle with understanding the concept of spirit, soul, and body. Yes, change needs to happen, and by all means it should, but you and I are not to be the judge of how fast that is to happen. Now here's where we need some understanding. When someone comes to Jesus Christ and turns their life over to Him as their Lord and Savior something happens to their spirit. This is what Jesus told Nicodemus in the New Testament. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who lived by the letter of the Law. He was a religious person for sure and knew the expectations of God in meeting the laws requirements, but when confronted by Christ he discovered that the law could not provide salvation. We find the story in John 3:1-8. When you place your belief in Jesus Christ your spirit is reborn, that old sin nature that we inherited through Adam is no longer, our spirit is now like Christ, the Holy Spirit and our spirit are now as one. This is what God sees when He looks at us, He does not see our sin, He sees His Son Jesus Christ. Read John 3:16-17, it describes very plainly the purpose God sent His only begotten Son.
Do you see the difference, your spirit is redeemed, this is you, your soul and body have been purchased but not redeemed yet. This is why many Christians may not be meeting your expectations of purity. If someone continues to live in sin, then I would question the validity of their salvation. When someone loves you as much as God loves us, then we would naturally want to avoid anything that would displease Him. The Word of God is truth, it will change your attitude, and even change your mind, but it will only do so according to the amount of time and effort you put into it.
I hope this helps those who view the Christian in a negative way, though I know there are those who will continue despising Christians no matter what truth hits them in the face, but, this is why you can see such a variety of Christians throughout our world. Many Christians are walking around with a wrecked mind because they haven't replaced their old way of thinking with God's way of thinking. Romans 12:2 can't be any plainer.
I would like to leave you with an example of someone who experienced the life change that Jesus Christ offers everyone. After Victor turned his life over to Christ he still did not understand what happened, he felt he had to live up to certain standards and rules until one day his daughter prayed for her dad, then the Holy Spirit told Victor, "You're healed, but your mind is a wreck, You've got to wash it." This is a very, very brief description of his story and I hope you will take the time to look up the rest of it. Below are a couple of links that will take you to the websites that tell his story.
http://victormarx.com/about/
https://www.youtube.com/user/atpministries
